Optical profile measuring apparatus
AssigneeGlass Technology Development Corporation
InventorsAlan E. Thomas, Leon E. Thompson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for measuring the profile of portions of an article located within a predefined plane. Each portion is scanned, such as by an optical micrometer providing a beam of radiant energy, to determine its dimension. The distance between each portion and a vertical reference is also scanned to determine its dimension. The article is rotated about an axis intersecting the predefined plane within the scan of the beam and is axially moved along an axis parallel to the intersecting axis within the scan of the beam so that the dimension of each portion and its distance from the vertical reference can be determined. The apparatus may be used in combination with a cavity identification system to control manufacturing employing multiple molds.
Claims51
An apparatus for measuring a profile of portions of an article by determining the spatial relationship between portions, said apparatus comprising:
- means for aligning the portions of the article article to be profiled with a predefined plane;
- and
- means for measuring the width of each portion of the article aligned with the predefined plane and for measuring the distance of each portion of the article from a first reference.
A method for measuring the profile of portions of an article by determining the spatial relationship between portions, said method comprising the steps of:
- aligning the portions of the article to be profiled with a predefined plane;
- measuring the width of each portion of the article aligned with the predefined plane;
- and
- measuring the distance of the portion of the article from a first reference.
Apparatus for inspecting an article manufactured by multiple molds comprising:
- means for identifying the cavity from which the article was molded;
- means for aligning portions of the identified article with a predefined plane;
- means for measuring the width of each portion of the article aligned with the predefined plane and for measuring the distance of each portion of the article from a first reference thereby to form a measured profile;
- and
- means for comparing the measured profile to a reference profile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.